Package comprising a thin bag and a double-folded stiffening inserted into the body of the bag,and the procedure for the production of this package



PACKAGE COMPRISING A THIN BAG AND A DOUBLE-FOLDED STIFFENING INSERTED INTO THE BODY OF THE BAG, AND THE PROCEDURE FOR THE PRODUCTION OF THIS PACKAGE Filed 001?. 26, 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 y 1969 M. R. WETTLEN 3,456,861

INVENTOR Lars Malta Roland WCHZLQII'I PM v sokggma PM,

ATTORNE Y:

July 22, 1969 L M R. WETTLEN 3,456,861

PACKAGE COMPRISING A THIN BAG AND A DOUBLE-FOLDED STIFFENING INSERTED INTO THE BODY OF THE BAG, AND THEPROCEDURE FOR THE PRODUCTION OF THIS PACKAGE Filed Oct. 26, 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVEN TOR L or: Make Roland wefiun /3am; 54% 29 PM.

ATTURNE Y S y 1969 M. R. WETTLEN 3, 5 7 PACKAGE COMPRISING A THIN BAG AND A DOUBLE-FOLDED STIFFENING INSEH'I'ED INTO THE BODY OF THE BAG, AND THE PROCEDURE FOR THE PRODUCTION OF THIS PACKAGE Filed 001;. 26, 196? 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR Lars Mahe Roland WeHzln ATTORN'E Y5 y 22, 1959 L. M. R. WETTLEN 6 PACKAGE COMPRISING A THIN BAG AND A DOUBLE-FOLDED STIFFENING INSERTED INTO THE BODY OF THE- BAG, AND

THE PROCEDURE FOR THE PRODUCTION OF THIS PACKAGE Filed Oct. 26, 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR Lars MaLte Roland WeHn M sQ AD Pm ATTDRNE Y5 y 2, 1969 M. R. WETTLEN 3, 6, 6

- PACKAGE COMPRISING A THIN BAG AND A DOUBLE-FOLDED STIFFENING INSERTED INTO THE BODY OF THE BAG, AND

THE PROCEDURE FOR THE PRODUCTION OF THIS PACKAGE Filed Oct. 26, 1967 s Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR Lars Mali-,2 Roland Weifln BMW QSWV& Em

ATTORNEYS United States Patent US. Cl. 229-17 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A package made from a tube of thin flexible material and having transversely extending end seals includes a tucked-in portion adjacent one corner portion of one of the sealed ends and in which none of the four walls of the bag developed at the tuck are sealed to one another. A W-shaped stiffening member has its central wedge-shaped portion inserted into the tuck and the four surface parts of the W are adhered respectively to the four wall portions of the bag defining the tuck. The bag is opened automatically at the corner portion where the tuck is located by spreading apart the W-shaped stiffening member and the walls of the tuck which thereby results in a progressive rupture of the end seal from the package corner. The W-shaped stiffening member is incorporated in the walls which form the gable top end of an outer container in which the bag is placed.

The present invention relates to packaging technology and is concerned with a package comprising a bag of thin, flexible material filled with a liquid, and a doublefolded stiffening structure that is inserted into a tuck in the bag immediately below a boundary line of the bag, and which in a section at right angles to the vertical axis of the upright sealed package has the shape of a compressed W in the area of the said fold.

A package in accordance with the above principles has been proposed before, in which the stiffening consists of a part of an outer container for the bag which has an upper edge zone that has been concertina-folded and flattened to form a fin, the inner bag in the Concertina-folded condition being sealed along a narrow sealing zone situated outside the said fin formed by the edge zone of the outer container. In accordance with this earlier design, the edge zone of the container that forms the fin is then torn along a continuous or partly perforated tear line which extends around the circumference of the edge zone along practically the whole of one of the edge-zone areas that has been concertina folded. The purpose of this is to enable the package to be opened by parts of the fin being separated from the outer container, by being torn along the tear line incorporated in the fin, during which operation the bag inside the container is also torn open along an area behind its seal, and to make it possible for the concertina fold exposed as a result of the tearing-open operation to be opened out to form a spout with a largely rhomboidal section.

The present invention has many features in common with this earlier proposal. Thus the present invention is also applicable to packages of the strip-top type, also known as a gable top, which have many advantages. The new design however differs from the old one in that it can be opened much more easily. There is thus no need, as was earlier the case, to tear through a number of layers of plastic foil in order to open the package. The inner 3,456,861 Patented July 22, 1969 "ice bag is instead opened up in a way that is usual when striptop packages are opened. In order that this should be possible, the invention is characterized by the said W configured stitfening being fixed to the wall of the bag in the area of the central wedge-shaped portion of the said W that has been pressed into the bag, while portions of the wall of the bag are not in any part of the said W fixed to one another, by virtue of which fact the bag can be opened up in the said boundary line by tearing open the said stiffening, and a spout formed by the stiffening and 'at the same time also the portion of the wall of the bag afiixed to the stiffening, being opened outwards.

The invention also relates to a method for producing the package. A method of producing packages of the kind specified in the introduction has been proposed before, which is characterized by a hose made of a flexible plastic foil capable of being heat-sealed and sealed at its lower end being, inter alia, filled with a liquid at the same time as the lower portion of the hose is inserted into an outer gable top container of some still? material fitted with a base, and by the plastic hose, preferably in conjunction with the closure by concertina-folding of the upper portion of the container, being sealed along a narrow sealing zone situated outside the fin formed on closure of the container, after which the inner bag contained within the container, that has been separated from the remainder of the hose by the sealing operation, is removed from the remainder of the hose by being cut along the said sealing zone.

This procedure has appreciable advantages. It is thus a decided advantage to be able to work with a hose which is continually or at definite intervals filled with a liquid, since this creates the conditions necessary for an aseptic packaging operation. It has however been found ditficult in practice to insert the filled hose into the outer container and to close the container and the inner bag simultaneously by concertina-folding the former.

The purpose of developing the procedure which will be specified in the following has therefore been, apart from the wish to produce a package that can be opened easily, to make it possible for the principles of the original procedure to be carried out in practice. This development work has resulted in the establishment of the procedure in accordance with the present invention, by which it has been possible to retain the advantages of the original procedure at the same time as its disadvantages have been eliminated. The procedure is thustcharacterized by at least one finger-shaped device being driven against the vertical axis of the bag which is preferably hanging vertically, immediately below the upper boundary line of the bag, so that one of the upper corners of the bag is pushed inwards and a part of the boundary line is folded round the remainder of the boundary line, so as to form a tuck in the bag; by the bag, with the finger still in position inside the body of the filled bag, being made to perform a vertical motion in relation to the said stilfening, which is at the same time made to enter the tuck in the bag which has been formed by the finger; and by the finger being withdrawn from the tuck in the bag, after the stiffening has been made to enter the tuck or at the same time as this is done, the bag being transferred from the finger to the stiffening and being suspended from this.

The invention will be specified more closely in the following by reference to the attached figures, of which FIG. 1 illustrates an initial stage of the operation in accordance with the invention,

FIG. 2 shows a later stage, namely that in which the filled bag has been separated from the hose and two finger or cantilever-shaped units have been pressed into the body of the bag, and are lowering it,

FIG. 3 shows how the bag, suspended on the cantilevers, is inserted into a container,

FIG. 4 shows how the cantilevers press inwards the said stiffening, which as a result is inserted into the tuck in the bag formed by the cantilevers,

FIG. 5 illustrates how the finished package can be opened (initial stage) and how the inner bag is thereby opened up,

FIG. 6 shows the continuation of the opening operation, and

FIG. 7 shows finally the opened package.

1 in FIG. 1 denotes generally a hose which to a level 3 is filled with liquid 2. In accordance with a preferred design, the hose consists of a polyethylene foil which is capable of being heat sealed. A cushion-shaped, completely colsed and filled bag 7 is separated from the remainder of the hose 1 by a straight sealing zone 5. The upper corners of the bag have been denoted 5' and 5". A similar sealing zone 4 seals off the remainder of the hose at its lower end. Bag 7 is, in a similar manner, sealed off at its lower end by means of a straight sealing zone 6. Bag 7 can be separated from the remainder of the hose 1 by a out between zones 4 and 5. The equipment by which this separation is effected is not shown in the figure, since this is not considered necessary for the understanding of the principles of the present invention. The liquid 2 is poured in from above hose 1 before this is formed into the shape of a hose by folding from a plane sheet.

Bag 7 is surrounded by four sheets or flaps 8, 9, 10 and 11, which in the position shown in FIG. 1 press against the side walls of the bag, so that these are tensioned and so that the body of the bag is somewhat flattened. Both lower sheets 10 and 11 can be rotated in the way indicated in the figure, and all sheets are capable of accompanying the bag in its vertical movement which will be described in the following. It is best to use for this purpose an endless chain, not shown here, which is operated synchronously with the equipment that feeds downwards the hose 1.

To finger or cantilever-shaped units (hereafter called cantilevers), whose operation is of primary importance for the procedure in accordance with the invention, are denoted 40 and 41. The cantilevers can be moved in both the horizontal and vertical direction and are for this purpose mounted on a frame not shown here. They further consist, as far as those parts that are shown in the figure are concerned, of plane, comparatively thin but not sharp sheets of metal. At their ends they have edges 42 inclined upwards in a way whose principles are shown in the figures.

Directly underneath hose 1 and bag 7 there is placed a sleeve 12 of comparatively stiff material, preferably cardboard. Sleeve 12 has a square cross section and its sides have in FIG. 1 been denoted 13, 14 and (hidden) 15 and 16. The base flaps have been denoted 17, 18, 19 and (hidden) 20. The top of the sleeve is to form a strip-top by means of a concertina-fold construction. The concertinafold areas which may be seen in FIG. 1 have been denoted 25, 26, 27 and are separated from one another by fold lines 23 and 24. The rib-shaped portions above the concertina-fold areas have been denoted 28 and 30 and their upper edges 29 and 31 respectively. There are also ribs 32 and 34 respectively above both roof areas 21 and also further ribs 33 and 35 respectively which extend past ribs 28 and 30.

A hopper 43 is placed above sleeve 12, the lower end of which largely corresponds to the cross-sectional area of the sleeve. The hopper has two slots 44 and 45 respectively, to receive cantilevers 40 and 41.

The procedure which the figures are intended to illustrate is started by the wall of the bag being cut between the sealing zones 4 and 5, or by the bag 7 being in some other way separated from the remainder of hose 1. Bag 7 at this stage is prevented from falling down by being held above sealing zone 5 by sealing blocks that are not shown here. After this or at the same time, cantilevers 40 and 41 are driven against the vertical axis of bag 7 immediately underneath the seal line 5 and press the corner of the cushion in against the body of the bag. When the cantilevers have been brought closer to one another, the sealing blocks (not shown) release their hold on sealing zone 5, enabling this to follow the movements of the cantilevers and to be folded back along itself. The reduction in volume as a result of the insertion of the cantilevers into the body of the bag is compensated for by flaps 8-11 being moved outwards correspondingly.

The movement of cantilevers 40 and 41 is not stopped before the portion 5a and 5c of the tucked-in sealing zones meet at the center of the seal 5, FIG. 2. The remainder, namely the upper portion, of the sealing zone has been denoted 5a in this figure. The tucks formed as a result, 50 and 51, have both on each side of the cantilevers double layers of the wall of the bag, and in FIG. 2 52 and 54 indicate the walls that abut onto the cantilever 40, and 53 and 55 denote the corresponding portions of the outer wall of the body of bag 7.

The next stage in the operation is introduced by bag 7 being completely released from the grip of the sealing blocks. Bag 7, suspended freely from cantilevers 40 and 41, is now lowered toward sleeve 12, FIG. 1, and also loses contact with flaps 8-11 at the same time. Hopper 43 guides the bag down into the sleeve 12, and at the completion of this stage cantilevers 40 and 41 glide down through slots 44 and 45. The stage can be considered to be over when the cantilevers have come into contact with the upper edges 29 and 31 of ribs 28 and 30, respectively, FIG. 3.

By virtue of the fact that the downward movement of the cantilevers 40 and 41 continues, and as a result of the contact between the rounded surfaces 42 of the cantilevers and the upper edges 29 and 31 of ribs 28 and 30 respectively, the ribs will glide along the surfaces 42 and be .forced inward towards the central axis of the sleeve. Rib 28 will thus be folded in around it centre line 36 by cantilever 40, FIG. 4.

As the movement of cantilevers 40 and 41 continues, ribs 28 and 30 will gradually be folded further in towards the central axis of the sleeve. Since this tucking-in is carried out by cantilevers, the said ribs will consequently be inserted into the the tucks 50 and 51 in the bag FIG. 2. The remainder of the concertina-fold areas will follow ribs 28 and 30. Thus, areas 25, 26 and 27 will be concertina-folded along the boundary lines 23 and 24 in a way that should with the desired degree of clarity be apparent from FIG. 4. During the last stage of the operation, cantilevers 40 and 41 are withdrawn from the respective tucks 51 and 50. Ribs 28 and 30 will hereby assume the supporting role of the cantilevers, namely bag 7 will now be suspended from the ribs. Ribs 32, 33 and 34, 35 will finally be driven towards one another with the aid of a pair of blocks not shown in the figures, during the operation in which the double folded sealing zone 5 and the bag material immediately below this are pressed together. By virtue of the fact that an adhesive has previously been applied to the insides of ribs 32, 33 and 34, 35, the concertina-fold configuration is fixed in the position it has been made to assume. Since an adhesive has in addition been applied to the insides of ribs 28 and 30, the insides of tucks 50 and 51, such as for instance the inner walls 52 and 54 of tuck 50, are aflixed to the inside of rib 28. The adhesive may for instance be of the kind that is activated by the application of heat. In order to prevent the walls of the tucks adhering to one another through the polyethylene material becoming soft, such as for instance Walls 52-53 and 54-55, it is preferable that the adhesive be activated before the bag is inserted into sleeve 12. Alternatively, an adhesive that can be activated at a temperature below that of the softening point of the polyethylene may be chosen, and in this way the adhesive may be activated even after the bag has been inserted into the sleeve.

In conjunction with the final folding operation,base flaps 17-20 are also folded up and sealed, but this operation will not further be described here.

The package is opened in the way that is a characteristic feature of strip-top packages, by using the thumb and forefinger to fold outwards the concertina-fold areas 25 and 27 and then pressing together the edges that have been opened out. It is however a characteristic feature of the present invention that the-inner bag held inside the stiff outer sleeve is opened up when the concertina folds are folded outwards. FIG. 5 thus shows the beginning of the opening operation. By straightening out the bellows-folded, relatively stiff rib 28, the sealing zone 5 of bag 7 is opened up as a result of a simultaneously tearing-open of portion 5b, FIG.2, and of that portion of 5a which is situated next to this portion, beginning at the point at which the said portions 5a and 5b are joined. The force of the pull, owing to the pressure of the stiffening rib 28, can be concentrated right onto the sealing zone which may be weakened somewhat in advance so that it may be torn open more easily. The way in which this weakening may be carried out has not been shown in any of the figures, but may possibly be carried out in conjunction with the separation from the remainder of the hose 1 of bag 7, some piece of equipment flattening out from above the newly-formed sealing zone 5, or in some other way weakening it.

The final stage in the opening-out operation is shown in FIG. 6. This figure illustrates how the opened-up sealing zone is exposed above the upper edge 29 of rib 28. It is thus possible to see the portion 5b of the sealing zone that has been folded under, immediately above the edge 29, and one-half of portion 5a above this. The package can now be completely opened by concertina folds 25, 26 and 27 being folded forward in the conventional way. By virtue of the fact that walls 52 and 54, FIG. 2, are attached to the inside of rib 28, portion 5b of the sealing zone will be opened out as rib 28 is folded outwards, FIG. 7. Since wall portions 53 and 55 are also attached to the wall of the sleeve, namely to the inside of ribs 32 and 34 respectively, the opening 60 thus formed will be surrounded by portions of the former sealing zone that adhere tightly to the sleeve. The package may now be emptied easily, since there are no loose portions of the wall of the bag in the area around the opening, and owing to the fact that rib 28 acts as a spout.

I claim:

1. A package comprising a bag made from a tube of thin flexible material and which is provided with a transverse seal across one end thereof subsequent to being filled, said package including a tucked-in portion adjacent one corner portion of the sealed end and wherein none of the four wall portions of the bag developed at the tucked-in portion are sealed to one another, and a W- shaped stiffening member having its central wedge-shaped portion inserted into said tucked-in portion of said bag, said four wall portions of said bag developed at the tucked-in portion thereof being adhered to the four corresponding surface portions of said W-shaped stiffening member respectively in contact therewith, and said package being openable by a spreading apart of the W-shaped stiffening member and walls which form said tucked-in portion which results in a rupture of the appertaining portion of the end seal.

2. A package as defined in claim 1 wherein said bag includes tucked-in portions adjacent both corners of the sealed end and is inserted in an outer container of the gable top type, the wall portions of the container from which the gable top is formed establishing W-shaped stiffening members correlated respectively to each of said tucked-in portions.

3. The method of making a package including an inner bag of thin flexible plastic material and an outer rectangular cardboard container having a gable top which comprises the steps of forming longitudinally spaced transverse seals across a vertically disposed tube of said flexible material to establish the inner bag, tucking in both corner portions of the upper transversely sealed end of the bag below the seal where none of the four wall portions of the bag developed at each tucked-in portion are sealed to one another, lowering said bag into said outer cardboard container through the open gable top thereof, the wall portions of said container from which the gable top is formed establishing W-shaped stiffening members correlated respectively to each of the tucked in portions of said inner bag, folding the gable top walls inwardly so as to enter the center walls of the W-shaped stiffener member into the tucked-in portions of the bag, and sealing confronting and transversely extending end portions of the gable top to the upper transverse seal of the bag.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,214,944 9/1940 Vogt 229--14 3,215,330 11/1965 Thomas 22914 FOREIGN PATENTS 965,078 7/ 1964 Great Britain.

DAVID M. BOCKENEK, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 5328; 229-14 

